R32 brake refurbishment

[big al]

I am picking up my r32 front brakes in. 2 weeks time. They have been sprayed with 2 or 3 coats of proper redpOnt for brakes but I was wondering what the difference is between this and powdercoating?

[scooba]

Hi powder coating is very durable and when applied properly is a bitch to remove , ie soaked in some acid then neutralised before blasting ,from my experiance it goes on quite thick around 80 microns .I think this is why Dave suggests to mask all the same areas as VW OEM .if you get paint on the machined faces it could lead to issues .

I think Daveb will explain all this better when he seas the post.

[Andy]

Not wanting to burst any bubbles but that pic just looks like the whole caliper has been painted, the pad gallerys in the carriers should be blasted and etch primed and masked off to give good operation without corrosion.

I would say if you are going to split your own calipers then ANY machined surface needs masking up - just like OEM.

I would be also suspicious of any piston housing thats been sat at 180-200 degrees in the powder coaters oven for 20-30 mins.

Thats a dry prolonged heat, on a fairly skinny rubber seal thats designed to get hot but whilst immersed in oil, indeed prior to fitting the seals should be immersed in a wetting agent prior to fitting and then reassembled with lithium grease.

You cant really say "well it should be ok" when it comes to brakes....

they have just been painted  and not power coated and the seals put in as far as i was told of the seller...the carrier are getting redone now

[SteveyD]

Good point dave, forgot to add that.  I masked all bolt holes but forgot to mask the machine faces, ended up bringing them back with various grades of wet/dry.

Id also advise against painting the whole caliper, besides you cant actually see the rear alu section once they are fitted.

[SteveP]

^^^ Cheers, I have just been looking for someone to powder coat some brakes, I will give them a try